So I Watched the MLP Movie (Spoilers Ahead) · 11:24am Oct 7th, 2017

Even though my city got themselves an Alamo Drafthouse Theater earlier this year, I actually haven't visited it until last night. And I gotta say, making my first visit to the theater for My Little Pony: The Movie of all things was a pretty special moment! I met a bunch of other bronies since it was a 10:15pm showing (there was literally one little kid there), I got to experience what the Alamo Drafthouse was about, and I had a really good time watching the movie.

I'm gonna put spoilers for the movie underneath this (And have it covered so that nobody accidentally reads it), but I just want to say that overall, this was a really good film with stunning animation, fantastic music, and a fairly competent story with intriguing new characters thrown in the mix. I wouldn't call it an amazing movie, but I do really like it for what it is, and I really hope people go see it to give this film the profits it deserves. Overall, I grade it somewhere between a B+ and an A-. Which let's be honest, is still pretty damn good (especially for this year).

Now with that being said, here are my specific thoughts regarding the movie that include Spoilers:

-Okay, where the hell is Starlight Glimmer in all of this? Or Shining Armor? Or Flurry Heart?! I mean, I get some fans might be grateful to not see Starlight in this, but I expected at least some mention of Cadance's husband and daughter. Especially after Tempest put her and the other Princesses in that crystal thing.
-Also, Tempest is pretty damn intimidating at first. She's snarky, and sadistic, and her design is pretty damn top-notch. I can't say I'm a huge fan of how her character was given the whole Starlight Glimmer (or Sunset Shimmer) level of redemption at the end, but I do consider it handled a lot better than either of them. Because One: her backstory was simple enough to be shown during a song and show sympathy to her turn to evil. And Two: Her sacrifice at the end was legitimately badass, and it certainly deserves some recognition.
-The Storm King was... odd. I mean, he's legitimately powerful and evil (especially since he looks like a knock-off of Tirek), but his behavior is closer to Discord with his egomania and childish use of his newly-given magic. I'll give the film credit for not making him a standard stern and angry bad-guy (although that might just be because they have Tempest for that), but I'm not sure whether or not to find Storm King to be intimidating.
-I swear to god, Michael Pena was trying to channel Josh Gad for the voice of his assistant character to Tempest.
-I'm willing to bet good money that some writers in the Fall of Equestria fandom are going to use screenshots of those captive ponies as cover pages.
-Capper is fucking awesome, and I'm really glad he was given some good character and development in the limited amount of screentime he had. I mean, his change of heart felt a bit rushed (especially since it only came in that split-second Rarity stitched up his jacket), but he was still very entertaining and gave a lot of good humor to the story.
-The pirate gryphons were fun as well. But yet again, their change of heart arc was waaaayyyyy too rushed. I mean, they just got right back into the pirate stuff as soon as Rainbow Dash started her song. I mean, I'm sure they had to speed up some story elements to fit in the runtime, but it barely took those gryphons anything to stop working for the Storm King. Makes me wonder how they even joined him in the first place.
-Also, Rainbow is a fucking idiot for doing that Rainboom while trying to hide from Tempest.
-After seeing her as Crazy Eyes in OiTNB, knowing that Uzo Adoba was the Seapony/Hippogriff Queen is really jarring. I keep expecting her to stare Twilight down while pissing in front of her.
-Twilight's bullshit moment with the pearl, as well as her argument with her friends afterward, felt really jarring from the bright and colorful stuff that was happening in the hour beforehand; but at the same time, it gave the movie a really well-done (and very well-needed) moment of quiet where emotions have time to sink in, and we get to see just how much weight and pressure everyone is going through because of their mission. It almost reminded me of the Royal Wedding Rehearsal, except with everyone's anger towards Twilight being MUCH more justified. I could understand why Twi acted the way she did, but I liked that she realized her mistakes as well.
It was a great scene that I'm sure will be talked about for a while on this site (especially in the Accusation Stories group).
-Seeing how easily the Mane Five and the pirates were able to defeat those monster things in Canterlot, I have to wonder how they were overrun so goddamn easily the first time. I mean yeah, Tempest wasn't there the second time, but still!
-Why didn't Tempest just put Twilight in that crystal thing like the others before the Storm King stole their magic? I mean, I get it's important for the climax, but I doubt Tempest would ignore such an obvious means to ensure the plan would go without a hitch.
-Okay... I REALLY did not expect to see the Storm King basically get killed at the end there. That was a dark-ass way to get taken down. Still, this was a great climax.
-Even though I'm glad everyone else is alright, there HAS to be a lot of shattered psyches from what occurred in Canterlot, right? I mean, going to a big city for a huge concert/festival, only to end up being caged or bound up in suggestive bondage for slave labor, is probably going to leave a bad mark on your psyche, right? Even if it was only three days, that shit's pretty damaging.